Method of opening hard or frozen tapping-holes.



H. C. WITZ. METHOD OF OPENING HARD 0R FROZEN TAPPING HOLES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I7, 19I6.

Patented June 6; 1916.

HENRY CHARLES wrrz, 0F JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF OPENING HARD 0R FROZEN 'IAPll?IIIN'G-HOlIiE5.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jime o. 1916.

Application filed February 17, 1916. Serial No. 78,935.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY C. Wrrz, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Johnstown, in the county of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a" certain new and useful Improvement in Methods of Opening Hard or Frozen Tapping-Holes, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to blast urnaces, open hearth furnaces, and the like, and more particularly to the tapping holes thereof, and aims to provide a simple, quick, and effective method of opening hard or frozen tapping holes.

The tapping holes of a blast or open hearth furnace as ordinarily closed by the plug usually used for this purpose, are subject to the disadvantage of the formation of hard steel crusts at the inner portions of the tapping holes where the inner portions of the plugs in many instances are fused away, permitting a portion of the steel contents to find its way into the tapping hole and form a hard crust or what is known as a frozen tapping hole. With the usual method of tapping holes, the task of breaking through this crust or frozen steel is laborious' and expensive, and hence the object of the present invention is to break through the crust quickly and effectively at a considerable saving in the cost of the operation, as well as the length of time required.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which the means preferably utilized to carry out this method are"illustrated,'and which forms therefore a part of the'present specification, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a portion of a blast furnace, ad acent its tapping hole, and Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through a portion of the furnace on the center line of its tapping hole.

Referring now to these figures, I have generally indicated a blast furnace at A, its tapping hole being seen at A and being Copies of this patent may be obtained for five sists in .fusing inFig; 1 closed by the usual plug B. As

seen in Fig. 2, the inner portion of the plug B has been attacked by the fluid contents C of the furnace in such manner as to fuse away the inner portion of the plug and admit into the inner portion of the tapping hole A, a portion of the material contents .0, as seen at C" which, upon hardening,

forms what is known as a frozent'appinglw hole.

In order to break through the crust or hardened steel atC, I preferably utilize a heated member, such for instance, as an iron bar, as seen at D in Fig. 2, and continuously feed oxygen to the heated member so as to fuse the crust and in this we eat through the same. The oxygen is pre erably delivered to the heated member in the form of a jet from a nozzle or pipeE at one end of a flexible tube E, leading from an oxygen tank E through valved connections, such as shown at E in Fig. 1.

Thus, by the means shown the heated member which; as above stated, may bevin a variety of forms, is after application as-- shown in Fig. 2, maintained in an incandescent state by the oxygen fed thereto, so as to eat its way through the crust at C and thus complete the tapping operation.

1 It is to be understood that, while I hayg shown and described my improvements 1n connection with blast furnaces and steel, they are equally applicable and effective inconnection with open hearth furnaces and iron.

I claim y The herein described method of opening hard or frozen tapping holes, which conthe hard or frozen metal by the application of a heated metal bar, and

directing a Jet of oxygen against the said bar.

HENRY CHARLES WITZ. Witnesses:

H. B. MAINrIAR'r,

JAMES T. LAUNTZL cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner 01 latentl, Washington, D. 0." 

